Jack's Murder
by DesiringPirates
Summary: Story 8. Completed. When things seem to be going in their favor for once, something most foul and heart-rendering happens.
1. Chapter 1

JACK'S MURDER

PART ONE

Jack moaned, and moved his naked body on top of Elizabeth's. Her smooth hands ran up his lean yet muscular arms. Jack closed his eyes and gasped when she began to explore his naked chest… it felt too good. Jack's head went back when Elizabeth's lips began placing sweet innocent kisses just above his nipples, and Jack had to stop the contact.

One of his strong hands gripped her hip, his other cupping Elizabeth's face as he kissed her.

"Ready?" _Because if I don't do this I will die…_

Elizabeth took a deep breath, nodded, and Jack slid home into her body for the first time in months. He was not sure what he expected - another barrier? Blood? Any pain?

He looked up into his love's face and grinned. She seemed not to be in pain, but pleasure. She moaned out his name, reaching up to kiss his lips. Jack let her kiss him, gentle and sweet and _oh god…_

"Oh, Elizabeth…"

Jack started off slow, but strong. He didn't want this coupling to be fast- he waited too long for it, and he wanted to enjoy it. She felt so right, her channel gripping his hard cock, all velvety and warm…

They both took turns in exchanging sweet atonements, gasping and just simply enjoying the feel of their bodies connected.

(1)(2)(3)

Ana Maria heard giggling come from the cabin behind her, and smiled.

_Good. At least that is finally settled. _She thought, and began humming and singing to herself.

"Blow the man down, oh blow the man down, yo ho yo ho, blow the man down…"

It was yet another calm night. She would have preferred to see it from her cabin window, but Jack was in a nasty huff about changing the watch schedule. He wanted his nights free, now, for obvious reasons. And for some strange reason or another, he always wanted the new man, Smith, to take afternoon shifts. So he could keep an eye on him, to catch him if Smith messed up - which he never did, and Jack would curse.

Ana Maria sighed and shook her head. She did not understand why Jack did not like Edward. He was an all right bloke… a little standoff-ish, at least towards her, but an all around decent fellow. Just yesterday, he helped Will with his sword practice. Will usually did it alone, but Ana Maria had to admit that it was entertaining to watch the two spar around the deck. Edward was good; maybe almost better then William, because he had years of experience behind him.

Those two, Edward and William, quickly became friends. Whenever you wanted Edward, there was ill. And when you wanted Will - like Ana Maria did sometimes- well, that was a problem. Whenever Ana wanted some 'alone time' with her lover during the day (now that her nights were busy - thanks to Jack), she literally had to drag Will away from Edward. Lately, she had just given up and gone to sleep.

As of right now, in the galley, there was a poker game going on. Gibbs, who was supposed to take watch after her, was there. Along with Pintel, Will… and of course, Edward. Normally, Jack would be playing with them, but -

"Oh, Jack! YES!"

- Jack was busy.

Ana Maria sighed. She didn't mind taking night watch, really. The deck was clear and the nights were usually beautiful.

Until he came up the stairs.

"Hello, dark one." Edward stuttered, wobbling a little on his feet. He was drunk!

Where was Will? She didn't feel safe alone with this man…

"I DO have a name." Ana Maria bit back, trying to make it like she was full of bravado. She can handle herself in a fight, but she was human… if a drunk man came towards her, violent and stronger than her, she was sure that she would not make it.

"Ah yes, Ana, right?"

"Maria."

"Maria?" Edward rubbed his chin in thought. "I'm pretty sure Will calls you Ana."

"My name is Ana Maria. And only those close to me may call me Ana."

Edward took two steps closer. "I am close to you…" Edward breathed on her face, his breath mingled with rum. "… Ana."

"Step away, ye prick, or you are going to lose that which you hold dear."

Edward chuckled, and took one step back - but only one step. He still had on that evil smirk, and he leaned against the railing by the wheel. Still smiling, he looked her up and down.

"You must be good in the sack. Will doesn't strike me as the kind to be with colored-"

"-Will does not care about skin color." Ana Maria snapped, and stared at Edward with venomous eyes. "And I don't see why you should, either. I am apart of this crew, and I work hard."

"You do work hard. Your people worked hard in my cousin's field."

"'My people'? My people are the same as your people, just a little darker."

"Hey, hey hey! Relax…" Edward held up his hands in mock defeat, and got off the railing. "… just trying to make friendly conversation." Edward grinned. "So how did one of you end up being a pirate on a ship?"

"I see nothing 'friendly' about it!!" Ana Maria's voice raised a few octaves, and her eyes grew wide when Edward came closer to her. "Leave me alone."

"No." He began to touch her, to grip her hips. "I want to see why Will stays with you…"

"LET ME GO!!" Ana Maria let go off the wheel, swinging her arms to try and hit the vile man who was moving her over and pressing her to the rail. The wheel spun madly, causing the Pearl to pitch in the slight waves.

Edward just laughed cruelly in her ear as he went to undo her pants.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON OUT HERE?!"

Jack rushed over to where Edward was, grabbed his shoulders and threw him on the deck. Elizabeth immediately went to Ana Maria, who was still riled up. She managed to calm her down, and with the combined efforts of the two of them, they managed to get the Pearl back in order.

"Jack! Relax, she's alright!" Elizabeth called out, for Jack was busy straddling Edward and punching him in the face.

His fist raised, he looked over his shoulder to Elizabeth and pouted. "But I want to hit him…"

Ana Maria shook her head. "Jack, let him go. He's drunk."

Jack grudgingly got off of Edward, who grabbed his bleeding nose and ran down to the crew's quarters before Jack threw him into the brig.

"Are you alright? Want me to go get Will?" Elizabeth asked, concerned.

"No, I'm fine." Ana Maria shook her head.

Jack started the concern thing too. "Ana, are you sure? You can take a rest, I'll take over watch."

"No! I'm fine, just a little shaken."

She turned back to grip the wheel and resumed taking the Pearl on her course. Elizabeth and Jack stood around for a few minutes, unsure whether to leave Ana Maria or not. Eventually, they thought that she would be safe (and they would only be in the room behind her) and left to go back into their cabin - keeping it unlocked so they could run out, if needed.

One question ran through her head: _"So how did one of you end up being a pirate on a ship?"_

(1)(2)(3)

_She was six, or seven, she did not know. All she knew was she was ripped out of her mother's arms and pushed into a ship's cargo hold, where she was going… where was she going?_

_There were flies, and little or no food at all. Every once in awhile men came down to urinate on them, laugh at them, beat them. Why? What was the point?_

_All around her people were dying. Children were the first to really go, they were weak. Soon it was only four children left - four children out of thirty. She was one of the survivors… but for how long? Where was she going?_

_She wanted her mother. She wanted to go home. _

_Soon the ship was pulled onto a dock, and the people who survived where shackled and pushed out of the hold, only to get two minutes of sun and fresh air. Many people tried running away, but as soon as they stepped a foot out of line, she heard horrible noises and the people were lying on their face in their own blood. _

_It was horrible!! Where was she going?_

_The people were pushed onto another boat, The Wicked Wench, it was called. She heard some sailors scream that name out, along with other words she would understand when she was older… if she ever got to be old._

_They were out on sea for three days before a man came down to look over his cargo. She remembered the man; he was young, and handsome… and nice. He took one look at all of them, the dead, the dying and the wounded, and began screaming at his crew. _

"_Unlock them! Get some water, some food! Alert the medic! I want all these people looked over!!" _

_The men did not dispute the man, he held authority over them. She put the two and two together and decided this man might be in charge of the ship… captain? Is that was he was called? _

"_Sir! Children over here, sir!"_

_Soon the man was in front of them, and he dropped down to his knees and began looking them over. _

"_How many?"_

"_Four." his crewman shook the shoulder of one child, who appeared to be asleep… but the child never moved. "Three, sir."_

"_Damn it all, what has the world come to to make skeletons out of children?" The man stooped in front of her, and she felt safe by him. "Hello, there."_

_She looked up at him in confusion. She did not understand what he said._

"_You don't understand me?" He reached up to cup her face, and she flinched. Out of habit… every time men touched her, she was in pain for hours afterwards. "Shh… don't be scared. I am not going to hurt you."_

_The man unshackled her, and picked her up. She felt herself be cradled in his arms… and it felt good. She began to cry._

"_Shh… no tears." He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and smiled at her. "I'm nice, see?" _

_She curled up in his arms, and buried her tiny face into his shoulder. _

"_Do you have a name? A name?" He got no response. "Alright, I'll call you… Ana. Ana Maria, do you like that?"_

"_Sir, what do you want us to do with the slaves?"_

"_They are not slaves!" he barked at the man. "They are people." he sighed. "Set a course to the bayou. Tia Dalma will let them stay there."_

_The man carried her, and other men followed with children in their arms, up to a warm cabin. They were laid on the bed, where a man with funny looking eyes (he had four of them!) looked over their bodies, treated their wounds. _

_For days, they rested in the cabin, eating all they wanted, drinking fresh water, allowed to go out on deck and play. Many men were learning how to sail; many men were learning how to speak English. The nice man came up to them, trying to teach them some words, and they were willing to learn. _

_He held a soft spot for her, calling her 'Ana Maria'. When they docked in a bayou, and loaded in the longboats, she sat on his lap and played with his fingers. He just chuckled and talked to her all the way. _

_She gripped herself tight on him, as they said goodbye. He promised to come back and visit her… but he never did. She assumed he went down, for when she was searching for his ship, 'The Wicked Wench'… she never found it. _

_To this day, she blesses the man who called her 'Ana Maria'._

(1)(2)(3)

"Mmm… I feel good." Jack sighed, his hands clasped underneath his head.

Elizabeth giggled and placed her head on his chest, her hand rubbing his stomach.

"You better. I am great in bed."

Jack chuckled, and unclasped his hands so he can tilt Elizabeth's chin up.

"Yes, you are."

They kissed softly, Elizabeth pulling away softly.

"Happy birthday, Jack."

"It's me birthday?" Elizabeth nodded. "Weee!" Jack joked, and rolled himself on top of Elizabeth. "I ask, am I getting the same present as last year?"

"Maybe…"

"Maybe yes?" Jack grinned and lowered his head to kiss her. "It's been a year?"

"Yes."

Jack grinned, and sat up, straddling her waist. "Well, since we got a year to celebrate, I have to ask to bow out for five minutes and take care of me ship." He said, reaching over to grab his hat and put it on.

Just the sight of Jack, naked above her with that god- awful hat, made her laugh.

"Hurry back."

"Aye, me lady."

Jack swung one leg over her and stood up on the floor. Bending down to pick up his breeches, he felt a tiny pinch on his cheek.

"Hey! No pinching the Captain."

"Is that against the rules?"

"Now it is."

Jack reached over and kissed her lightly, before pulling on his shirt and walking towards the door.

He opened up the door and stepped up on deck, looking around. There was no one at the helm; the wheel was tied off to keep the Pearl steady.

"Ana?"

He stepped out further and looked around.

"Ana?" _Maybe she skipped to the loo…_

Jack walked down the stairs, and heard the poker game going on. Gibbs was scowling, Pintel was cursing, and Will was smiling over his pile of loot.

But no Ana Maria.

Curious, Jack continued walking along the Pearl, looking into various rooms and the crew quarters. Still, no Ana Maria. The chamber rooms, her cabin, the helm… the girl was nowhere to be found!

"Oh, Ana, where did you go?"

Jack walked into the armory hold, where all the cannons were. He poked his head around a corner, and saw her slumped over a cannon.

"There you are. Get up, ya lazy bum, ye've got to-"

Jack stopped.

Ana Maria wasn't moving… and there was a dagger sticking out of her chest.

"Ana?"

He began walking towards her, and as his movements sped up, images flashed into his mind.

"_I'll call you Ana - Ana Maria."_

Jack carefully pulled her away from the cannon, and laid her on her back. She was not breathing.

_A young six year old girl, her hair flying out as he held onto her hands and spun her around on the deck._

"Ana?" Jack called out, his hand resting on the hilt of the blade. "Ana, can you hear me?"

"_No go!"_

"_Ana, I have to…" he felt her grip him tighter, afraid that if he left she would be put back in hell._

Jack pulled the blade out, and looked down at the dripping blood.

"Ana?"

_He smiled down at her, and bent over to place a kiss on her forehead before she skipped off to bed. _

"Oh, Ana…"

Jack leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead, hearing Elizabeth enter the cargo hold behind him.

"Jack? Are you there?"

"Elizabeth- no!"

"Oh, god! ANA!"

Soon she was leaning over Ana Maria, touching her face as tears filled her eyes.

"No, Ana, no! Jack, is she-"

"Yes." Jack placed a comforting arm around Elizabeth's shaking shoulders. "Ana is dead."


	2. Chapter 2

PART TWO

She no longer looked like Ana Maria. She was bloodied, bruised... there were thumbprints on her neck. Someone had choked her, until she had bled... Jack and Elizabeth noticed that her blood seemed a little thin... but it was still blood, and she had a hole in her chest... and... and...

Elizabeth quietly stood up and walked stiffly to the side. She tried taking deep breathes, but they were shallow and her chest felt tight, her stomach churned...

"Oh, Lizzie!" Jack called out, watching Elizabeth hurl near a cannon.

He removed himself from Ana Maria's mangled form and rushed to Elizabeth's side. Jack pulled back her hair from her face and rubbed her back. Jack sighed, he would have to wait until she was done.

"Elizabeth?" Jack asked, hearing her heaving turn into angry sobs. "Come on, luv..."

Jack slowly turned her around and held her close, kissing her hair and trying to soothe her. It took awhile, and a very wet shirt, but eventually Elizabeth had stopped crying... heavily. She was still sobbing, holding onto Jack.

"Luv, ye alright?" Jack felt Elizabeth nod, and heard her take in a deep watery sounding breath. "I need ye to go git Gibbs. Tell him to come here. And tell Will..."

_Will... shit. Oh, shit. He is NOT going to take this well... _

"... take Will into our cabin. Tell him nothing, wait for me to come. If he asks why he is waiting in there at midnight... I don't know... think up something, yer clever."

Elizabeth gave Jack one last squeeze, and Jack in turn gave her another kiss on the head. She looked up into his face, trying to smile, so she knew she could do it for Will. Jack saw this, and tried giving her a small smile back. Both of their faces seemed strained, and they eventually gave up. Elizabeth detached herself from Jack's body and turned to walk to the small galley.

"Don't look down, luv."

Elizabeth closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and skirted around Ana Maria's body, heading for the door. Jack smiled at her, but it quickly fell.

_Oh, Ana. We got to git you cleaned up..._

(1)(2)(3)

"Mr. Gibbs?"

"Just a second, Miss Eliz'beth." Gibbs turned back to Pintel, and continued arguing with the balding pirate. " 'M telling ye, I had two _Queens!_"

"Liar! Ye 'ad one, and a King!"

"Mr. Gibbs? Jack needs to see you down-"

"Wait a minute, Eliz'beth! Now, this pot is mine..."

Elizabeth felt her stoamch churn in anger, and without thinking, grabbed Gibbs by the ear.

"Yeouch!!"

Pintel laughed boisterously, Will attempted to hide his chuckle by holding his hand in front of his mouth.

"Now ya gotta Queen biting ye in the ass!" Pintel barked in mirth, his gut shaking.

"The Captain needs to see you in the hold. NOW."

Gibbs turned red with embarrasment, standing up and swatting Elizabeth's hand away. He turned to face her and made an inquiring face, and Elizabeth leaned in and whispered in his ear:

"You have to be quiet about this. Jack needs you by the cannons... Ana Maria's been... been... murdered."

Gibbs' jovial face turned to stone, and without a word or passing glance, he marched out the door quickly and down to the hold. Will watched in amusement as Pintel checked Gibb's cards - he did have two Queens - and glanced up at Elizabeth. His brow furrowed at the sullen look on his friend's face.

"Elizabeth, what's the matter?" Will stood up and walked over to where she stood. "You don't look so good."

_Oh no, I can't tell, I can't lie either... _

"Did you and Jack have another fight?"

_That's it! _Elizabeth nodded, and in shaky tones, said: "Yes. He is such a bastard!!"

"I have to hear this now." Will said, and turned around to find Pintel looting his spoils. "Oi! Get off!"

It took a minute for Pintel to give up all he nicked, but soon Will had his arm around Elizabeth's shoulder and walked with her up to her and Jack's cabin.

"Now, what did the idiot do now?"

"He, um..." Elizabeth racked her mind for ideas, and came up with one quickly. "He wanted sex! And um... I am not feeling to good, you know, and I told him no!"

Will blushed a little and cleared his throat, he was uncomfortable. Not because he wanted to talk about sex with Elizabeth, it was because they were going to talk about Elizabeth and sex with Jack, and he always wanted to throw up whenever he thought about it. The thought of Jack at sport made him nauseous; he was pretty sure it was the same with Jack.

"And then what?"

"Well, then... he threatened me!"

Will stopped and quickly turned to her. "He THREATENED you?! Are you hurt? Did he get violent? Did he-"

"Will! WILL!! No, I meant he threatened that the next time we made port he would go visit a doxy!"

"Oh." Will chuckled a bit, relieved to hear that there was no violence involved. If Jack so much as _bruised_ Elizabeth, he would find his head on a spike... "Where's Ana?"

Elizabeth coughed, and continued to violently, and Will looked at her concern. "Sorry. What did you say?"

"Where is Ana Maria? I thought she had watch-"

"She did! Does! Is... um... she is at the head, and... I don't think she is feeling to well?"

"Oh." Will nodded his head once. "I should go check on her..."

"NO!"

Will looked at Elizabeth, his eyebrow cocked with question.

"... Why not?"

"Will, you just don't disturb a lady in the lavotory!! Honestly!!" Elizabeth straightened up, trying to ignore the dizzying feeling in her head. "There are some things that a woman doesn't want to share with her significant other!!"

"Oh. Womanly problems?" Will shuddered. "They can stay at the head."

"Yes, well..." Elizabeth grabbed his arm and continued their treck to her cabin. "What do you think I should do about Jack?"

"I honestly think he was just letting off steam. You know he wouldn't go and cheat on you."

"But... wasn't it mean? What he did?" Elizabeth needed to get him in the cabin, needed to stall him until Jack came back...

"A little, yes, but Elizabeth, a man... a man..." _How to put this into words? _"A man's... you know... needs some special attention now and then, and if the woman... you know... well, then, the man can get upset. And you know us men, we don't think before we say things."

"That's true."

"Hey!"

"You said it!" Elizabeth took a deep breath, and glanced over her shoulder nervously. It seemed like she was waiting for something, or someone, and Will was curious to find out what was troubling her.

"What's the matter?"

"Huh? Nothing! Just... I don't feel safe around Jack tonight. He was pretty upset, and he did smack me on the arse."

"I thought you said he didn't hit you." Will said, his face looking dangerous now.

"I ... lied." Elizabeth seemed nervous now, _uh oh. I think I just took this too far. Sorry, Jack! _"I was embarassed."

"Where is he."

"Will, don't overreact, it was nothing!"

"Where. Is. He."

"In... the cabin?" Elizabeth answered nervously, knowing full well that Jack was not in the cabin. But she had to say something, she had to give Jack some time to do whatever he needed to do! "Will, promise me you won't hurt him!"

"I can't make that promise, Elizabeth."

Will barged into the cabin, and found it empty. "Damn! Where did he go?"

"He'll be back! Why don't you wait here, and wait for him?" Elizabeth asked, hoping that Will will for once listen to her and stay put.

He did. Without saying anything, he leaned on the desk and began cracking his fingers. With every snap, Elizabeth felt worse, for surely Jack was going to be punched before he had a chance to say anything...

In about five minutes time, the doorknob twisted in its place and the door slowly opened. Will stood up and marched over to the other side, and as soon as Jack's face was in view, he was sprawled out on the ground and clutching his bleeding nose.

"BLOODY HELL?!?!?!"

"WILL!"

"Not nice, being hit??" Will said, grabbing Jack's shirt and picking him up. "Don't you hurt her again! You hear me?"

"WILL!"

"Will, mate, I'm sorry! Never planned on it..."

"Oh, and she is just there to be beaten?!"

"We are looking for the murderer! She is-"

Will paused, his fist in mid air, and looked down at Jack. "... murderer?"

Jack looked up at him, and glanced over at Elizabeth, who shook her head. Will looked up at the abandoned helm, and his eyes glazed over.

"Where is Ana Maria?"

(1)(2)(3)

"Here, Will. Have some rum." Jack offered, holding out a bottle.

"Thank you..." Will said montoneously, and held out his hand. Jack pressed the bottle into his hand.

But Will's grip was lax, and it slipped out of his fingers and fell to the floor. It bounced; Jack flinched; it cracked, Jack frowned; and it's contents poured to the floor. Elizabeth, who was near tears again, stepped to his side and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"Will, everything will be alright. Remember, we are here for you."

"...thank you..."

"Maybe we should go out on deck- get some fresh air. How 'bout it, mate?" Jack offered, lightly punching Will in the shoulder. He felt something weird, deep in his chest, looking at the depressed man in front of him. Was it... sympathy?

"... thank you..."

Elizabeth threw a worried look over at Jack, and hugged Will closer to her.

"Will, it's alright to let go..."

"... thank you..."

Jack sighed, and waved a hand in front of Will's face. Will never blinked.

"Elizabeth, I don't think he is in the Caribbean anymore."

"Nonsense. Will!" Elizabeth called out, shaking him. "Nothing."

"Poor lad." Jack moved and sat down next to him. "I'd throw myself off the ship and die if anything like that happened ta me."

Elizabeth gave Jack a soft smile, oddly touched the he would go to such extremes if she died. Which she wasn't planning on doing for a long, long time yet.

"Who would do it though? Who would want to kill Ana?" Elizabeth sniffled; and snuggled closer to Will, hoping to snap him out of his shocked trance. "What would he have to gain from this?"

Jack sighed, and ran through the list of crew members in his head. What would he have to gain? He indirectly hit Jack, making him upset. He was making them all busy and on alert. Or Jack could be playing it all in his head. Maybe Ana made a man grumpy - extremely grumpy-

Jack paused.

Maybe an angry, extremely drunk man who didn't get what he wanted from a woman.

(1)(2)(3)

Edward slammed against the wall, hard, and for a second he thought he felt his bones shake in his body; even thoguh he had stopped moving. He groanes, and grabbed his head.

The angry captain stepped towards him menancily. Edward actually cowered at the sight- he was afraid of this man now! He knew what he did was wrong, but he left and left her alone-

Jack's fist connected with his jaw, and Edward spat out blood.

"Why'd ya do it?"

"Do WHAT?"

Edward felt Jack's fist connect with his face again, and reeled from the pain. Edward groaned, and slid down the wall to the floor. Better to do it now then be smash into it later.

"Captain, I honestly don't know what you are talking about!"

"Like HELL you do!" Jack grabbed Edward by the neck, and started dragging him out of the crew's quarters. The men were watching, interested in what was going on but refusing to speak up - they did not want to be apart of Jack's fury.

Edward cursed and screamed loudly at Jack as the Captain manhandled him all the way to the hold, which was lit up with laterns and all. Jack forced him down on the floor, next to something... wait... _is that a body?_

"Tell me you did that."

"I would... but I would be lying."

Edward looked the body up and down, seeing it was that black woman up at the helm. _Huh- so someone got her. _

"Your lying now!! Speak the truth!!!"

"I am!!" Edward pushed Jack off and stood up, staring the Captain in the face. "You think I would go so far as to lie to the Captain? Please, John, you should know me better than that! That is a one way ticket to being keelhauled-"

_"What did you call me!?!"_

Gibbs, the first mate, looked on as his Captain stared darkly at the young man. Edward blanched, and began stumbling on his words.

"Apologies, Captain, meant nothing by it. You just reminded me of an old friend, that's all-"

"That better be all." Jack looked over at Gibbs and ordered him over. "See Mr. Smith to the brig. Force him inside if you have to- shoot his leg, I don't care."

Jack sat back and watched as Gibbs grabbed Edward by the shoulder and physically drag him from the hold. Jack looked over at Ana, who was cleaned up and just waiting to be wrapped... and he sighed.

_Things were not suppose to go this way._

Jack walked in to see that Will had left, and Elizabeth was resting on the bed. _Poor girl. _Suddenly, he had a need to be by her, to feel her body against his, to make sure that she was alright and safe. He, very quietly in case she was asleep, made his way onto the bed and laid down next to her. Elizabeth opened her eyes, looked at him, and cuddled into his chest.

_Need to keep this girl safe. Amy, too... though I don't think she can die. No matter. They need gaurds._

"Lizzie?"

"Yes, Jack?" Her voice crackled, sounding like she just finished crying. Jack held her close.

"I am going to assign some people to watch over you and Amy... you know, to make sure you two will be safe."

"Jack, I am perfectly able to-"

"So was Ana Maria." Jack cut her argument short, using harsh but plain truth to shut her up. "I am not going to take the chance, Elizabeth. You are always going to be with me, Will or Gibbs. You and Amy. Until we get this settled..."

"Do you know who did it?" Elizabeth asked, moving so she can rest comfortably next to him and look at him in the face- Jack was holding her too tightly. "What will happen to him?"

"Edward Smith is in the brig. But I am going to rile up the crew... see who else Will and I could question."

"Oh."

Jack reached out and began playing with her hair, twirling it in his fingers. If anything should happen to her, now, now that everything was settled between them... Jack would be crushed. He'd move on... obviously... but he wouldn't be the same.

He wasn't the same. Not anymore. The past year, he noticed, he became less of a pirate and more of a man... thanks to Elizabeth.

And it did not bother him at all.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**  
**Amy looked right. Then she looked left. Then she pushed herself off the railing and quickly crossed the deck to the Captain's cabin. Being careful not to be seen or heard, Amphitrite clicked open the door. Inside, she saw two lumps cuddled close together on the bed. The biggest lump, Amphitrite saw, was over the smaller one; and Amy almost backed out of the room until she heard the giant lump snore loudly.  
She sighed her relief, and dared to go inside. Amy tip toed across the wooden planks; freezing once as she heard another snore. When the Captain nuzzled back up to his lover, Amy sighed.  
_There it is. _She walked over to the trunk and pulled out a dagger; she turned to see if Elizabeth and Jack were still asleep. Amphitrite took one step forward, and heard a knocking on the door; she quickly ran behind a cabinet, slipping the dagger back into its sheath.  
"'Mm'whaist?" Jack murmured (he was finally glad to get some sleep) and sat up in bed. Elizabeth groaned and tried to bury her face into the pillow.  
"Cap'n, the prisoner is makin' noise." Ragetti's voice flitted through the door.  
Jack moaned. "Shoo'im."  
"Jack -" Elizabeth grumbled into her pillow. "- go see wha' he wants."  
Jack made a noise of complaint, but nonetheless got out of bed and, after pulling on his boots, walked down to the brig,   
Leaving Amphitrite alone with a sleeping Elizabeth .

(J)(E)(J)(E)

As Jack walked onto the first step that led down to the brig, he heard the clanging, banging and yelling of his prisoner. He rolled his eyes, leaned over to grab a gun off the wall (for the brig was also a small armory) and walked down the stairs.  
"Why are ye clanging down here? Want me to shoot you?" Jack gruffed, quite annoyed that Edward woke him from his slumber.  
Edward stopped banging his canteen on the bars, and threw Jack a cool smile. They were alone.  
"Hello, Jonathan."  
Jack tensed up, and wanted to fight Edward that his name was Jack Sparrow. But he didn't.  
"Hello Edward."  
Edward knew, anyway. He knew from the beginning - but had kept his mouth shut, up until now that is.  
"Why, Johnny, it's been a long, long time since I saw you last." Edward taunted, resting his elbow on a support bar.  
"Aye, ye were blowing holes into me ship, and setting fires to the masts, last I saw ye. Good times." Jack scowled, and checked to make sure that his gun was loaded.  
"Truly, the one thing I regret." Edward said sincerely, and looked down at the floor.  
"Then why'd ye do it, if you regret it so?"  
Edward gave a nervous smile, still trying to pretend that he was truly sorry. Jack did not believe him.  
"Think of the old times, John. When we sailed the seas together, the places we've seen, the people we met -"  
"- that was forced into slavery merely because your people thought them inferior. I'd never forget."  
"Remember when we were young, and we use to visit the pirate cove?" Edward reminisced, and smiled at Jack. "Ah, good times . . . good friends . . . old friends."  
Jack locked eyes with Edward; his face set as stone.  
"Why not let an old friend out of these bars, John?" He asked, smiling sweetly.  
The gun went off, Edward jumped back two feet and cursed. Jack held the smoking barrel toward him, breathing heavy.  
"I'm not your friend." He said, lowering the weapon. "And my name? It's Jack."  
Edward sneered. "For how long, John? How long are ye going to keep up this . . . this story, this legend?"  
"'S not a story. I'm me." Jack said, and rolled his eyes. "Jonathan's story is finished, and I wonder why ye would continue ta -"  
A blood curdling scream filled the room, and Jack almost dropped the gun in surprise. Edward ran to grip the bars, trying to grip the bars to get a better view; and Jack forgot about him when he realized that the scream was a woman's . . . and that there was only one woman on board; one that was mortal and could die.  
" Elizabeth ." He muttered, and began taking the steps to the deck two at a time. He only hoped he could get to her in time, the brig was far from his cabin.  
When he got on the deck and could see his door (which was still far on the other side of the deck) he heard more crying and saw William trying to break down the door. He succeeded, and ran inside. Jack threw up a thanks to the sky, and ran across the deck.

(J)(E)(J)(E)

Elizabeth mumbled in her sleep, already missing the warmth of Jack's body but too tired to wake up and wait for him. She turned in her blanket, yawning as she felt herself slip back into deep sleep again.  
But something felt wrong. Elizabeth still kept her eyes closed, but she refused falling back asleep. Then she heard it. Someone stepped toward her.  
Her eyes snapped open just in time to see a dagger flash silver in the moonlight, and turned around just in time so that the dagger pierced her side and not her stomach.  
She let out a scream, and felt the blade leave her body. Elizabeth , with some difficulty, rolled off the bed and got to her feet, starting toward the door. Someone grabbed her from behind, and brought the blade down again but Elizabeth blocked it with her arm.  
Elizabeth turned her head to see who was attacking her; Amphitrite grimaced and tried to bring the blade down again. Elizabeth ducked the blade, turning to hit Amphitrite in the stomach; a flash of pain erupted from her side and she fell to the ground.  
Amphitrite straddled her and held the blade up high. Elizabeth kicked out from underneath her, sending the immortal Goddess to the side. Elizabeth attempted to get up again, rolling to her knees and crawling to the door, slipping on some of her blood. She gasped against the white-hot flashes of pain, feeling the wound in her side deepen from her movements.  
But Amphitrite grabbed her from behind again, and grabbing her by the hair, pulled Elizabeth up. Stretching her already worn body, Elizabeth cried out again. Tears fell down her face, and fear etched into her body.   
Elizabeth felt the warm blade, already bathed in her blood and Ana Maria's touch her throat. Elizabeth screwed her eyes shut tight. Visions of her life passed before her eyes. Jack dominating most of them, of them dancing, of them holding Thomas, of them kissing on the deck.  
Then she felt a weight being lifted off of her; felt the blade pierce her skin; heard shouts and loud thumps on the floor. She felt herself fall into warmth, pressure holding her tightly, and saw the world turn black.

(J)(E)(J)(E)

Jack rushed in and saw Will wrestle Amphitrite to the ground; saw the blood running down Elizabeth 's neck and thought the worse. He rushed forward and grabbed her as she fell forward, noticing that there was a deep gash in her left side. He pushed back her golden locks to see her pale face.  
Jack laid her down on the floor; stood up and walked to the struggle in front of him. Grabbing Will's shoulder, he pushed him off of Amphitrite and reached out, grabbing her around the neck and slamming her against the wall.  
The dagger fell out of her hand; she stilled in shock. Jack slammed her against the wall again, and stared down at her. Will kneeled at Elizabeth 's side, tearing a blanket up to wrap around Elizabeth 's wounds.  
"Why?" Jack growled, cursing immortal beings. "Why would ye do this to her?"  
"To protect her. To save her from you." Amphitrite spat, her small hands on his hands, trying to pry him off of her neck.  
"And what would I have done to her? Stabbed her? Let her bleed to her death?" Jack said, his fingers tightening on the Goddess' neck.  
She didn't fight for air, or turn blue. In fact, she could pry his grip off of her in a second.  
"I saved the colored one from the horrors I have seen and endured; I am doing the same to yours. No woman must know the abuse -"  
Jack's grip tightened. "So ye murder them?" He threw her onto the floor. "Do ye not see what is going on? What we did with Ana? What Will is doing with Elizabeth now?"  
Amphitrite looked up from the floor and looked over at Will; who was busy tying bandages over Elizabeth 's wounds. He was murmuring softly to her, trying to wake her up. Amphitrite's body relaxed on the floor, grief over what she did washed over her.  
Jack noticed. "Will, take this murderous crazy bitch to the brig."

(J)(E)(J)(E)

Elizabeth startled awake with a gasp, and looked above her with horror. But the look of fear on her face turned into a warm smile, which was met with two other smiles.  
"We were getting afraid that you wouldn't wake up, Elizabeth ." Will said, and grabbed one side of her as Jack grabbed the other. "You were out for a good hour or so."  
Elizabeth opened her mouth to speak, cracked, and motioned for some rum. After a mouthful, she was able to speak.  
"Amphitri . . . " she broke off, massaging her neck with her hand.  
"Locked up." Jack answered, an angry note in his voice. "Chained up, bolted to the floor and locked in the darkest and strongest cell."  
"And Edward?" Will asked. Jack rolled his eyes. They had already had this conversation. Jack wanted to keep that bastard in the brig, in case he would try anything, but Will made an extremely good case on excusing Edward from his imprisonment. "You and I both know he is innocent in the case of -"  
Jack put a hand on Will's shoulder; he was looking down at the floor now at the mere mention of Ana Maria. While he was glad that he finally knew what had happened to Ana Maria; it didn't make the truth that she was gone any less painful.  
"Can't we keep him in there?"  
"Jack, he doesn't deserve to be in there." Will argued.  
Then a crackly voice also fought the Captain. "And he is a good worker."  
"And he is sober now; he won't harm anyone."  
"And now with Ana gone, we are short in crew members -"  
Jack fumed. "Alright! Alright already!" He took the keys out of his pocket and threw them at Will. "Go spring 'im."  
Will caught the keys in midair, and turned to leave the cabin. He paused at the door when he heard a soft "Sorry, mate." With a deep sigh, he opened up the door and walked out in the dawn.  
Jack sighed, and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I am getting too old for this."  
Elizabeth smiled, and moved to sit behind him. Her throat was feeling better, and luckily, her wounds were not that bad. "Now we have no choice but to finish this, you do know that, don't you?"  
"How do we always get into these kinds of situations?"  
"We're us. That's ALL I can say about that." Elizabeth wrapped her arms around his chest and held him close. "What are we going to do now?"  
"I think the thing to do now is to crawl into bed and ravage each other senseless . . . "  
Elizabeth laughed, and allowed Jack to move backwards. His head rested into her lap, and she began picking at his dreadlocks.  
"I meant about Amphitrite. We can't leave her down there. And that globe . . . Jack, we have to get rid of it all.""How do you suppose we do that?"  
Elizabeth stared at Jack, and he groaned. "Don't tell me that we have to go and see if we can find the big sea god?!"  
"Jack, we have to head out to open ocean and offer up Amphitrite and the Globe to Poseidon so he can come and take them -"  
"I knew it!" Jack frowned and sat up again.  
"-it's the only thing I can think of, and I think if we do it in a peaceful manner, we might get out unscathed!"  
"Then we only have the Navy after us." Jack groaned. "Why can't they just leave us humble pirates alone?"  
"Jack . . . " Elizabeth said, exasperated.  
"Yeah, luv." Jack sighed. "I know."

**THE END**


End file.
